Germany's Eurowings to launch low-cost flights to Iran

Germany's Eurowings will launch flights to Tehran, becoming the latest carrier to announce service for one of West Asia's main commercial capitals. The airline, Lufthansa's low-cost subsidiary, will start a weekly service from Cologne Bonn Airport to the Iranian capital from the end of March before doubling it from May.

The route will be operated with an Airbus A330 in long-haul configuration with excellent seating and entertainment comfort and is already available for booking via the Eurowings website, the airline said.

Tehran, with a population of around 15 million, is one of the country's most important transport hubs.

Last week, Lufthansa and its subsidiary Austrian Airlines announced plans for new flights to Iran amid a growing demand as business and tourism is crawling back to life in the resource-rich country.

Lufthansa will launch flights from Munich to Tehran and switch to larger Boeing 747s instead of an Airbus A340 for its flights from Frankfurt to Tehran from the summer of 2016, the German aviation website aerotelegraph said.

Austrian Airlines will be also departing twice a day from Vienna for the Iranian capital, offering one extra daily flight, starting March 11.

Germany's TUI Group, the largest leisure, travel and tourism company in the world, is in talks with Iranian officials to make investments in the country which is being billed as the most lucrative hospitality development market.

Earlier this month, minister of economic affairs, labor and transport for Germany's federal state of Lower Saxony Olaf Lies led a delegation of 100 German politicians and traders on a four-day visit to Iran.

The visit came on the heels of German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel who traveled to Iran in July at the head of a high-profile delegation of state officials and representatives of Daimler, Siemens, Linde, BASF, GIZ and others.